Dancing Together: The varsity Lancer Dancers prepare to compete at the upcoming NDA High School Nationals competition
The varsity Lancer Dancers will take the stage in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 14, to compete at the National Dance Association High School Nationals competition.
“I am really excited to compete and show everyone the dances that we've been working really hard on,” freshman Lainey Ascencio said.
The dancers will perform three routines: gameday, hip-hop and jazz. Each dance will be judged individually and then totaled to see which team makes it to finals on the last day of the competition.
The Lancer Dancers are expected to place well as the 2025 6A Kansas State Champions, according to sophomore Layla Wening. This anticipated high placement at Nationals is attributed to the hard work that the team has been putting into their routines at practice, and also because the team has had more time to practice with the responsibility of performing flags at football games going to JV, instead of varsity.
“I think that not doing flag has been helpful since we had more time to focus on our routines instead of focusing on flag,” Wening said. “Especially for state, we had a lot more time to practice, and also for coming up for nationals.”
No matter the outcome at nationals, the Lancer Dancers will remain a tight-knit group that supports each other, according to freshman Grace Taylor.
“Coming into high school with a group of friends was so great,” Taylor said. “We bonded so quick and I can’t wait to go to nationals with them.”
Passing Through the Halls: The new seminar pass system changes what seminar looks like for students
SM East students started using the new SecurelyFlex system on Jan. 27. The system works by splitting seminar into two sessions that students can sign up to travel during. However,unlike the original seminar, students must say in their first session location until the second session begins.
Students already struggle to balance many activities, and often need to meet with more than just the two teachers the new system allows them to, according to sophomore Campbell McKee.
“During the first session, I went to the track spring sports meeting, and it was kind of hard to use the pass system because we had to stay in the gym even after the meeting was done, because we weren't allowed to leave,” sophomore Leighton Fulghum said.
The new passes are a big change from the previous Securly passes, according to sophomore Darcy Kroening. Besides not being allowed to leave a class until after the session is up, Flex also doesn’t require approval from any teachers.
“All you have to do is sign up for a session, and it doesn't need approval or anything,” Fulghum said. “You just get to go. It's not where it's either red or green. You just sign up, and you just go. You don't have to wait or anything, which is really nice.”
Without the need for approval, traveling during seminar can be streamlined compared to the Securly system. Although it might be simpler in practice, the system is causing students confusion when attempting to use the new system, according to Kroening.
“There were three different places where you could put where you wanted to go,” Kroening said. “It was hard to figure out where I was supposed to put in where I was going to.”
Even without the system being determined as positive or negative, it is a big change that will take getting used to for students, according to McKee.
